Marvel Studios' most recent episode of WandaVision was an eventful 30 minutes that included what some believe to be a reference to the Fantastic Four. Now, a potential second reference to Marvel's First Family may have been spotted in a social media post on an account created for the Flash Thompson character from Marvel Studios' Spider-Man films.
In the opening moments of WandaVision episode four, "We Interrupt This Program," Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau wakes up in a hospital to discover she is one of the millions to suddenly return five years after being erased from existence by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Having lost her mother to cancer while she was gone, Rambeau returns to work for S.W.O.R.D. and is briefed on the changes that occurred at the organization during her absence by Acting Director Tyler Hayward. At one point during the conversation between Rambeau and Hayward, the Acting Director notes that half of their astronaut training program's personnel were lost in the "blip," the name that was given to Thanos' mass extermination, with some fans suggesting the line could be referring to the Fantastic Four.
In the comics, the Fantastic Four is a team of superheroes that includes Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, all of whom gain superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space. Fans suspect the aforementioned reference to astronauts in WandaVision could be a hint at the Fantastic Four being lost in space due to the "blip" as part of a reimagined origin story for the team, setting up their forthcoming introduction to the MCU. Adding fuel to the speculation is a social media post on the Instagram account created for Flash Thompson, one of the classmates and foils to Peter Parker in Marvel Studios and Sony's Spider-Man films, which features a page from the fictional Daily Bugle blog run by J. Jonah Jameson. The post in question includes a story at the bottom of the blog page that partly reads, "put an end to all this 'super' chaos going on! Find these darn astronauts!" While the names of these missing individuals are not disclosed in the blog post, the mention of them less than a week after WandaVision made a similar reference suggests the missing astronauts storyline is of importance, which may strengthen the argument that Marvel Studio's is laying the groundwork for the Fantastic Four's introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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After Marvel Studios gained the screen rights to the Fantastic Four following Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Kevin Feige took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 to confirm the superhero team would be introduced to the MCU in a brand new feature film. Over a year later, Feige announced Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home director Jon Watts will helm Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four film and unveiled the official logo for the project in the process. The Fantastic Four previously appeared in two maligned films from 20th Century Fox and an infamous feature by Constantin Film that was never officially released, though it would later become available through bootleg video distributors.
Meanwhile, Flash Thompson will return for Marvel Studios' and Sony's next Spider-Man film, with Tony Revolori reprising the role. Joining Revolori are, of course, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, and Marisa Tomei. However, fans are especially interested in the newcomers to the cast, including Alfred Molina as Doc Ock and Jamie Foxx as Electro, particularly because both actors are reprising roles from separate Spider-Man franchises.
The inclusion of Doc Ock and Electro in Marvel Studios' Spider-Man 3 may very well be explained by the arrival of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, who will reportedly serve as Peter Parker's mentor in the film. As the universe's protector from interdimensional threats, Doctor Strange's involvement in Spider-Man 3 suggests the multiverse will play an integral role in the wall-crawler's next adventure.
Fantastic Four is in development at Marvel Studios.
Source: Flash/Instagram